Newswise — Four University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine students have been named 2008 participants in the American Society of Hematology's Minority Medical Student Award Program, which encourages minority medical students to purse an interest in hematology research.

Under the program, the 15 award recipients, chosen from across the United States and Puerto Rico, will receive the support of a research mentor, a career development mentor, travel stipends to attend medical meetings, and a subscription to the scientific journal Blood, the official journal of the society.

UIC had more students receive the award than any other medical school. The UIC College of Medicine graduates more physicians than any other medical school in the United States (about 300 per year) and has educated 60 percent of Illinois' and 70 percent of Chicago's minority physicians.

"For several years we have been promoting research as an important component of today's medical education curriculum," said Dr. Jorge Girotti, director of admissions at the UIC College of Medicine. "It is very exciting to see that more of our students are taking advantage of wonderful programs like the one provided by the American Society of Hematology.

"This experience will give our students a great foundation to become leaders in research and clinical practice," Girotti said.

The four UIC awardees -- Olabunmi Agboola, a second-year medical student, and Alana Biggers, Jaime Brewer, and April Szafran, who are first-year students -- will work closely with their mentors for an eight- to 12-week period on a hematology-related research project.

The program is designed to encourage the brightest students from traditionally underrepresented groups to enter careers in hematology research, according to society president Dr. Kenneth Kaushansky of the University of California-San Diego School of Medicine.

The subjects investigated by this year's students include lymphoma, leukemia, sickle cell anemia, thalassemia, and stem cells. The awardees will also have the opportunity to present the results of their research at the society's annual meeting in December, one of the largest medical meetings in the country with more than 20,000 attendees.

UIC ranks among the nation's top 50 universities in federal research funding and is Chicago's largest university with 25,000 students, 12,000 faculty and staff, 15 colleges and the state's major public medical center. A hallmark of the campus is the Great Cities Commitment, through which UIC faculty, students and staff engage with community, corporate, foundation and government partners in hundreds of programs to improve the quality of life in metropolitan areas around the world.

For more information about UIC, visit http://www.uic.edu.